‘I’m still here’: Roberto De Zerbi breaks silence over claims he faced Marseille axe amid meltdown after Champions League exit – but admits ‘I don’t know if I’m the ideal coach’

Roberto de Zerbi admitted he does not know if he is the ‘ideal coach’ for Marseille in the wake of their disastrous Champions League exit.

The Ligue 1 side have been embroiled in chaos after their 3-0 loss to Club Brugge on Wednesday dumped them out of Europe’s elite competition, with sporting director Medhi Benatia warning there would be ‘consequences’.

Reports in France suggested De Zerbi could be sacked during a summit with the club’s hierarchy and would not take the team for Saturday’s domestic clash away to Paris FC.

But the former Brighton boss confirmed that he is ‘still here’ after speaking with Benatia and club president Pablo Longoria.

‘We lost an important match. We’re out of the Champions League. We need to try and understand,’ De Zerbi told reporters on Friday. ‘Pablo Longoria and Medhi Benatia, we spoke last night. We met to try and find the best possible solution. 

‘This match is also partly my fault. We’ll do everything to bounce back. I’m still here.’

The Ligue 1 side were dumped out of the Champions League on Wesnesday, sparking chaos

There was widespread speculation after De Zerbi was considering resigning after he allegedly reported ill. According to RMC, the club wanted to know if he felt he had the energy to continue.

When asked about such suggestions, De Zerbi responded: ‘I really wanted to come to Marseille. That’s the truth. There’s also the element of responsibility. I was taught to take responsibility. I’m telling you, the club, we played a bad match, that’s all. 

‘I don’t know if I’m the ideal coach for OM. From a results standpoint, we’ve done some good things. But there’s this lack of consistency.’

De Zerbi remained largely non-committal throughout the press conference, but did suggest his long-term future could be in southern France.

‘I have the strength to stay in Marseille for another 5 or 6 years because I have the passion, I love it,’ he said. 

‘The players support me. What annoys me is defeat. It’s not a question of passion but of powerlessness. These are defeats that leave their mark, but the players have great human and sporting qualities.’

De Zerbi’s defence of his players comes in stark contrast to the tone taken by Benatia, who was furious at their performance in Belgium. 

‘I want this to have consequences for the rest of the season,’ the former Bayern Munich defender fumed.

‘I hope it will have consequences, that they will ask themselves the right questions. I’m not putting everyone in the same boat, some gave their all and fought hard.

Medhi Benatia warned that there would be ‘consequences’ following the defeat to Club Brugge

‘A s****y night, even a shameful one. When you’re at a club like this, you can lose matches. You can’t lose like tonight. We’re dealing with a recurring problem. 

‘In the league, we’ve sometimes explained it as a lack of motivation against seemingly weaker teams. We’ve seen that when we’re not at 100 per cent, we often get knocked out.

‘Football has to be respected, and tonight we have to apologise to the fans, to the people who make sacrifices for this club. I hope the players realise that tonight was a professional mistake. I’ve lost matches in my career, but I’ve rarely felt this sense of shame, being capable of conceding six goals in two games.’

Mason Greenwood in particular, has reportedly incensed Benatia in recent times.

As per L’Equipe, Benatia and the former Man United winger are said to openly ignore one another whenever they cross paths, with the sporting director often a vocal critic of the 24-year-old both on and off the pitch.

Benatia is thought to have been angry that Greenwood shirked a commercial responsibility last summer with little concerns for the repercussions.

The report also claimed that Benatia raged at his club captain Leonardo Balerdi during a late-night meeting ahead of the Champions Trophy meeting with Paris Saint-Germain at the start of January.

English winger Mason Greenwood and Benatia are thought to have a difficult relationship

After scolding the players for a number of minutes in the wake of their disappointing league defeat to Nantes three days earlier, Benatia is believed to have been furious when Balerdi raised an issue over dressing room space.

Marseille players share their dressing room with a number of club staff, with the space’s position in training complex making it a thoroughfare – with the squad keen for an area with greater privacy.

Benatia is said to have hit out at the skipper with no little aggression, asking him: ‘Tell me, Leo, are the one paying rent on the locker room?’

De Zerbi is not thought to have present for the charged meeting, further highlighting the frictions throughout the club. 

Marseille should have the opportunity to bounce back against Paris FC, who currently sit in 14th in Ligue 1, and De Zerbi insists his players are desperate to put things right.

‘Together we will get out of this rough patch. I won’t say anything to my players,’ he said. 

‘There’s no point in talking. They are already angry enough about the match in Bruges, there’s no point in adding to it.’